Wonderful Journey
by Wingsong
Summary: On that day of days, all she could think of was him, and how he had changed her life. Little did she realize that he was thinking of her as well. (Minor spoilers for Eikoden) (Revised and reposted) (Tweaked)


Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi or the song. I don't even know who owns the song. Too tired to come up with something better.  
  
Warnings: SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES UP TO AND INCLUDING EIKODEN!!!! Ye have been warned. Having said that, this story gives nothing of the plot of Eikoden away. In fact, if you have seen the first two OVA's you should be fine. There is nothing in here that is not told in there. It is just filled out a little more in Eikoden. Now it is up to you to decide if you can read this.  
  
Author's note on the Timeline: This is kind of a TWT fic (Timeline? What Timeline?) The first sections are set at the end of the tv series, then it goes to the beginning of Eikoden, then sometime (I'm sure you can guess how long) after Eikoden. That's the best I can place it for you. Whenever you see the chorus separated by ~~...~~ that is when there is a time change.  
  
Wonderful Journey, Mysterious Play  
  
A Songfic  
  
On that day of days, she found herself thinking about how it all began. Yui jabbered in her ear, reminding her of certain homework assignments and extracurricular reading for the new year of high school. She did not want to worry Yui with her own petty depression, so she tried to pay attention, but her mind kept wandering.  
  
It had been six months and a thousand life times since she had seen Him, but she remembered everything. How she thought He was cute when He saved Yui and her from the slavers. How He definitely wasn't cute when she thought He had kidnapped Yui. How exasperating, infuriating, cheap, and callous He was. How He broke her heart the first time she confessed her love. How He kept managing to save her time and time again, even though He knew nothing about her.  
  
~We were strangers, starting out on a journey~  
  
When she had accepted the role of the Priestess, she had been mainly selfish, she could admit that now. What need had she of asking a God for her to look good in a miniskirt or have that same God pass her exams for her? Even being almost sold to slavers, beat up by street toughs, and thrown in the palace dungeon all in the first day had not beaten some sense into her. She began to get a first inkling of what she would have to go through, what she would put her seishi through, when He had saved her from the falling gazebo right before Nuriko appeared. This exasperating, infuriating, cheap, and callous boy had thrown Himself into a falling gazebo to protect her from her own stupidity.  
  
The trials had gotten much worse after that. She almost laughed when she remembered how she thought that the worst that could have happened was that they would get injured protecting her. Chichiri could then take them to Tai Itsukun and all would be well. That fantasy was blown out of the water as she looked at the bloody corpses of children, His family, scattered in the dust of his home. The world of the book, which had started to become real when Amiboshi had let go and fallen to his death, was brought into her reality with a vengeance at that scene. Again she thought that the worst had happened on Mt. Black, but she discovered that it was even worse when she wasn't there to see it happen. A monastery in Sairo...a courtyard in the imperial palace in Konan...an unnamed battlefield on the border of Konan and Koutu...a street in the fiery hell hole that Nakago had made of Tokyo.  
  
~Never dreaming what we'd have to go through~  
  
But He had come back, then. They had all come back. They had stood there, defiant, fighting against all odds, against an enemy stronger than all of them combined. And they had succeeded, had beaten the odds. In summoning the God, in that one moment of power and glory, she had suddenly known that she was a different girl than she was when she had agreed to help an unknown emperor on the promise of miniskirts and exams. She had gone through the trials of Suzaku's fire, had made some of the best friends she would ever know, and had met the love of her life.   
  
And in the next moment all of that was ripped from her as they started to disappear. She found herself frantically shouting the lessons she had learned from them, wanted them to understand her change before they were gone. He was the last to go, and she held onto Him the most. When He, too, started to disappear, she could no longer hold back the tears. But He had smiled, and that smile renewed His promise that, no matter what, He would find her. She smiled, suddenly happy again and confident in the knowledge that He would come.  
  
~Now here we are,~  
  
"Miaka?" Yui could tell the instant that Miaka had stopped paying attention to her. She bit her lip and looked at her best friend's melancholy face. Miaka had taken the change back into the real world much harder than Yui had. For the most part Miaka was Miaka, cheerful, bumbling, gluttonous. But there were times when Miaka seemed to go back into the World of the Four Gods, and she was sad, thoughtful, and oblivious to the outside world. Yui knew by now to just let the storm ride itself out. Miaka's underlying personality was far too strong to let her wallow in self-pity for long. Indeed, even as she thought that, Miaka smiled and turned to Yui.  
  
"So even the shoo-in for Jonan has to join the lowly ones who are forced into Yotsubadai." She crossed her arms and waited for the response.  
  
"Even perfect people make mistakes sometimes." Yui sniffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder and turning up her nose.  
  
Both girls held the pose for almost fifteen seconds before dissolving into giggles.  
  
"And so the Suzaku no Miko learned to find success in her own world, and her friendship with the Seiryu no Miko grew." Unbeknownst to either of the girls, Keisuke had snuck up behind them.  
  
"Since when do you get to be narrator?!" Miaka was only half outraged.  
  
"Since I know something you don't know." Keisuke responded.  
  
Yui smiled and waited for Keisuke to spill his news. She knew that he would tell, just as Miaka knew. That did not stop Miaka from begging and pleading with him to tell, and it did not stop him from pretending not to. Yui finally decided to intervene when Miaka had managed to get Keisuke into a headlock.  
  
"Ok," she said, "Whatever it is, tell us before your little sister kills you." She was only half joking.  
  
"Well," he said with an air of great mystery. "There's a new boy in our classes at the college this year-"  
  
Miaka interrupted him at that point, "Stop right there. I am NOT going to fall for another one of your ridiculous blind date schemes. I am happy as I am."  
  
"Really," he deadpanned. "Then the boy up there will be disappointed."  
  
Yui and Miaka turned to see Tetsuya standing next to another boy under a tree up ahead. The sun and the distance made it impossible to make out the stranger's features. Yui turned to Keisuke, "You didn't-"  
  
"This boy, Sukunami Taka, has had memories ever since he was a child. Memories of a girl he felt the need to protect. A girl he swore he would return to." Keisuke's voice trailed off as the impact of his words became clear to his sister.  
  
Miaka gasped as she realized just exactly who she was looking at. Him. Tamahome.  
  
~and I'm suddenly standing,/At the beginning with you.~  
  
On that day of days, he found himself thinking of Her. Tetsuya was slowly but surely leading him away from their usual hangouts and towards a high school, of all things. He didn't care. He was too lost in his memories. He did not remember anything clearly; they were just flashes, momentary reminders that this was not the first time he had done something. The first time he held his youngest sister in his arms. Getting the sensei at the fighting school to take him on as an apprentice teacher when he was too young but the family needed money. Taking care of his sick father. Those were the comforting memories, the ones he knew had some basis in reality.  
  
But throughout all of the memories was Her. He could see Her holding the little girl. He could see Her joking with a much older sensei. And then there were the memories of things that had no basis in this life. Beating down street toughs intent on selling Her. Holding Her close on the top of a barren mountain. Facing off against a blond haired giant in front of a tent where he knew She was. Defeating the same blond giant in something that must have been Tokyo, but looked a lot more like a hellhole.  
  
~No one told me I was going to find you,~  
  
He had had the dreams for as long as he could remember. The dreams were clearer. In the dreams he forgot he even was Sukunami Taka. In the dreams he was someone else entirely, someone who knew that he was destined to protect Her. He was a warrior, and that was his duty. He had fulfilled it well. Even when he had not known who She was, he had protected Her and helped Her look for Her friend. He had done his duty, fulfilled his destiny, following Her to the streets of an unknown and perilous world, protecting Her from Her friend, and Herself.  
  
No one had told him in the dreams that this little slip of a girl would worm Her way into his heart. He was born to protect Her, yes. But he wanted, needed to love Her.  
  
~Unexpected what you did to my heart.~  
  
The dreams also told of sadness, of defeat. Of a cold mountain and a musty temple. Of a simple home decorated in blood and a small campsite near a lake. In those dreams he knew fear, knew despair. He would comfort Her as She gave way to tears and in the next moment he would stand in awe as She drew on reserves of strength not even Nuriko possessed and stood strong against tests and enemies.  
  
It was funny, but he never remembered the specifics of a dream for very long after he woke up. He had images, but no background on which to place them, names, but no voices to respond to them. The dreams never seemed to repeat, but the images flashed over and over again. He would wake with the knowledge that what he had just seen was true and that he had to find Her, was meant to find Her.  
  
~When I lost hope you were there to remind me~  
  
"But the new English professor is HOT! Not that I would say that in front of Yui, but man..." Tetsuya glanced over at his friend. Taka made a noise of approval.  
  
"But you would be the one to know," Tetsuya said, trying to see if Taka was paying attention, "having slept with her so often..."  
  
"Yeah, Tetsuya." He responded absently  
  
Tetsuya threw up his hands in defeat. "I knew it! I'm having a conversation with myself! Come on, Taka, at least pretend to pay attention."  
  
"What?" He looked up at his friend, startled at the outburst. "Oh, gomen, Tetsuya, you were complaining about your schedule?"  
  
"Ten minutes ago!" Tetsuya cried, exasperated. "Where were you?"  
  
"Gomen, I was just...thinking." Taka sighed and his eyes got that far away look again.  
  
"Ohh no you're not. Earth to Taka, come in Taka!" Tetsuya smiled and waved a hand in front of his friend's face. He watched as Taka blinked and looked around as if noticing his surroundings for the first time.  
  
"Where the hell are we, man?"  
  
"I already told ya. We're gonna go see my girlfriend so that you can meet her," he explained yet again. He paused slightly, then grinned and said suggestively, "She has a friend, Keisuke's little sister, that I think you would like..."  
  
"Stop right there" he exclaimed rather heatedly. "You know my feelings on that score. There is only one girl for me, and I'll find her someday. WITHOUT your assistance."  
  
"Ohh, then this girl's gonna be disappointed." Tetsuya gestured over to where Keisuke and the two girls were. He waved and gestured them over, coming out of the shade of the tree to meet them. He glanced back, but Taka had frozen in place.  
  
Taka gasped as he realized just exactly who he was looking at. Her. His angel.  
  
~This is the start.~  
  
~~Life is a road  
  
And I wanna keep going  
  
Love is a river  
  
I wanna keep flowing  
  
Life is a road  
  
Now and forever  
  
Wonderful journey  
  
I'll be there when the world stops turning  
  
I'll be there when the storm is through  
  
In the end I wanna be standing  
  
At the beginning with you~~  
  
Miaka glanced over at her brand new husband and paused in wonder. It never ceased to amaze her that they had managed to survive all of the obstacles in their path. A young girl (and she had been INCREDIBLY young) meets a boy, they have adventures, fall in love, and are united for all eternity. Even when at its most serious, the Universe of the Four Gods still had a fairy like quality to it. It was a setting made for a hero on a white horse to swoop in and rescue the endangered heroine.  
  
In all their adventures in the book, they had never taken the time to seriously sit down and talk, to get to know each other. They had been almost constantly either running from danger or trying desperately to save their friends. Little wonder that he made her cry so often with his thoughtlessness, that she hurt him constantly with her childishness.  
  
~We were strangers on a crazy adventure~  
  
She thanked Suzaku now for taking him away from her when He did. She knew now that the love that they shared would have never survived in the real world. She had needed that interval of peace to put some perspective on the book-love. It tool her a long while to realize it, especially when Suzaku had had to call them back into the book, but she did not need a knight in shinning armor to rescue her. It was nice to have one, but she did not need to be rescued in the real world.  
  
Strange as it would have seemed to her then, she needed to fall in love with Taka, not Tamahome, in order to be truly happy. She had been so crushed to learn that Taka did not remember everything. She had cried for days, always alone in her room where no one could interrupt. It still took her several weeks before she stopped calling him Tamahome. Yet when she had begun to realize that the love she shared with Taka was different, stronger but no less pure, she realized that she was happy.  
  
It was not easy to come to this realization. It took a hell raising (literally) trip into the book to defeat a demon, but she finally came to her senses as she looked at the fake Tamahome. This was the Tamahome that she had cherished in her dreams; that she still in her mind had referred to in capital letters. This was the answer to her every prayer. And yet, she was unsatisfied, and frantic when she discovered that Taka had disappeared. That was when she realized that she would move heaven and earth to be with Taka, not Tamahome.  
  
And Suzaku had granted her wish, and restored all of Tamahome's memories to Taka. It had only served to broaden the base of an already flourishing relationship.  
  
~Never dreaming how our dreams would come true~  
  
Taka looked over to see Miaka looking at him and smiling softly. The beauty and tenderness of this girl would never cease to amaze him. That she loved him was the biggest surprise of all, in both lifetimes. He was the money-grubbing bastard who would do anything for a mon or a couple of yen. No matter that he had four very good reasons for behaving the way that he did, he was still a bastard. He winced when he recalled some of the schemes he had come up with in both worlds. He had done things in two lifetimes that would make a sailor blush. That this girl who was all light would choose to love him was a source of constant wonder.  
  
He smiled back at her and she glowed. He reached out a hand, and as man and wife they led the procession out of the church. He looked at the bright sunny day and knew that everything was going to be fine. They could start their new life together, whole, and blessedly free of books that suck you into their universe.  
  
~Now here we stand unafraid of the future  
  
At the beginning with you.~  
  
~~Life is a road  
  
And I wanna keep going  
  
Love is a river  
  
I wanna keep flowing  
  
Life is a road  
  
Now and forever  
  
Wonderful journey  
  
I'll be there when the world stops turning  
  
I'll be there when the storm is through  
  
In the end I wanna be standing  
  
At the beginning with you~~  
  
Taka watched his wife sleep, their new baby clutched in his arms. She was tired from the events of the day, and Taka did not want to disturb her. He slowly walked over to the window and looked up at the stars. After greeting his friends among the constellations, he looked down at his child. The baby would grow up with the knowledge of the people that made this all possible; the people that sacrificed everything for Miaka to be with her Tamahome.  
  
The search was finally over.  
  
~I knew there was somebody somewhere  
  
Like me alone in the dark~  
  
Slowly he brought his child up into the starlight. "Look, minna, at the promise of the future. Nuriko, Chiriko, Mitzukake, Hotohori, Chichiri, Tasuki, give your blessing on this child. Meet my son, Ryuuen."  
  
The stars twinkled in reply.   
  
~Now I know my dream will live on  
  
I've been waiting so long~  
  
He wasn't a fool. He knew that the book could never be sealed completely. He knew that the Mysterious Play never really ended. He knew that he could be called back into the book. As long as he was still living, Suzaku could call on him.  
  
He wasn't a fool, but he reveled in these moments of peace. Where he could fool himself into thinking that the book would disturb him no more. However, he would convince himself of that and then feel incredibly sad, knowing that if that were to happen he would never see his friends again.  
  
At those times he needed only to look at his bride. Miaka's ever-present optimism would lift him up, and his logic would reassert itself. A Suzaku seishi would always be needed, but he knew now that Suzaku Himself would do all in his power to keep them together.  
  
~Nothing's gonna tear us apart~  
  
His looked down at the babe in his arm and smiled. He began to whisper softly in the child's ear. "This is the story of the girl who, having gathered the Seven Seishi of Suzaku, acquired the power to have her every dream come true..."  
  
~I'll be there when the world stops turning  
  
I'll be there when the storm is through  
  
In the end I wanna be standing  
  
At the beginning with you~ 


End file.
